Ship Classifications
Humanity classified its ships into three main categories, or classes: Strategic Class, Tactical Class, Operational Class. Strategic Class ships were the biggest ships in a given fleet and were often not permitted for in-atmosphere operations. Strategic Class ships were primarily used as front-line and heavy support in fleet-to-fleet battles, and were all "Carrier" ships: ships capable of carrying other smaller craft without being able to be carried themselves. The second largest class of ships were the Tactical Class. Tactical Class ships were the main bread-and-butter of Humanity's navies: cruisers and frigates. They were classified as ships that were too big to be carried and to small to carry things themselves (other than small amounts of fighters, 5 - 10 if any at all.) The third and final class of ships, the small Operational Class, were ships and craft able to be carried and far too small to carry anything of their own. Primarily made up of destroyers, fighters and bombers, the Operational Class was the most produced ship class, as they were small, easy to build and powerful en mass''e''. The Human System of Ship Classification (The "Nimitz Scale") ---- Specifications Example *Length Distance **Between ***(Average) *Complement People **Between ***(Average) ---- Strategic Class Zero Tier (Super Ships) Supercarriers Huge spacecraft carriers that had more fighters than a normal carrier and the armament and armor of a battleship or dreadnaughts in the case of the largest types. They had massive bays for the storage of their fighters and their equipment, along with escort frigates and destroyers in some of the largest types. These large bays added miles of length to the ships, causing them to be even bigger than the dreadnaughts that protected them. Specifications *Length **8.5 mi. - 11 mi. ***(10 mi.) *Complement **400,000 - 450,000 ***435,000 Dreadnaughts Massive super-battleships, extremely powerful and very valuable. Were only ever used in fleet-to-fleet engagements, due to their immense size and cost. They were considered the pinnacle of design in heavy-frontline combat and were absolutely devastating to face with anything less than another dreadnaught. They had limited crew complements compared to supercarriers, which were both bigger and had to launch boarding troops, armies, fighters and bombers. Dreadnaughts were also smaller and much more common than their supercarrier counterparts, as they didn't require large bays for fighters and bombers or for troops and their equipment. Dreadnaughts had the highest range of lengths, but tended to be far larger than battleships. This was for the same reason that super spacecraft carriers were not made as often as supercarriers: it was simply more economical to make one big one or several smaller ones than a few intermediate-sized ships. Specifications *Length **3 mi. - 9.5 mi. ***(8 mi.) *Complement **150,000 - 225,000 ***(Average) First Tier Super Spacecraft Carriers Super spacecraft carriers were larger versions of normal spacecraft carriers, bridging the gap between supercarrier and carrier. Were not often produced, as it was considered more economical to either build a set of supercarriers or several sets of spacecraft carriers. Specifications *Length **3 mi. - 8.5 mi. ***(4.5 mi.) *Complement **175,000 - 235,000 ***(200,000) Spacecraft Carriers Large ships, even bigger than battleships, that carried immense amounts of aerospace fighters and bombers, along with ground assault and ship boarding groups of marines and heavy weapons. Also carried a fleet’s allotment of nuclear weapons. Specifications Example *Length **1 mi. - 3 mi. ***(1.75 mi.) *Complement **65,000 - 150,000 ***(80,000) Battleships Big ships that were made for front line combat and planetary bombardment. They used raw power and brute strength more than anything else, usually having only a complement of marines to repel invaders. Specifications *Length **1 mi. - 3 mi. ***(1.5 mi.) *Complement **45,000 - 110,000 ***(65,000) Second Tier (Ships-of-the-Line/Cruisers) Battlecruisers Battlecruisers, also known as light battleships, were the largest second tier ships. They were essentially a heavy cruiser which had battleship-sized guns and heavier shields, but were smaller than battleships themselves and significantly less powerful. Specifications *Length **2,750 ft. - 1 mi. ***(4,150 ft.) *Complement **10,000 - 45,000 ***(22,500) Heavy Cruisers The largest type of cruiser, heavy cruisers were essentially beefed-up medium cruisers made for heavy support fire (in space or for planetary contingents) and front-line combat alongside battleships and battlecruisers. Specifications *Length **2,250 ft. - 2,750 ft. ***(2500 ft.) *Complement **8,000 - 10,000 ***(9,000) Medium Cruisers The third most-produced type of ship (behind destroyers and frigates, respectively), medium cruisers were the primary second tier ship in use by most Human navies. Specifications *Length **1,750 ft. - 2,250 ft. ***(2,000 ft.) *Complement **6,000 - 8,000 ***(7,000) Tactical Class Third Tier (Primary Fleet Assault Ships) Light Cruisers Also known as “fast cruisers”, light cruiser variants barely qualified as cruisers. They were simply a frigate with slightly thicker armor and larger caliber guns, made for patrolling in potentially dangerous areas. Specifications *Length **1,250 ft. - 1,750 ft. ***(1375 ft.) *Complement **4,000 - 6,000 ***(5,000) Frigates Frigates were the second most build type of ship. Frigates were perhaps the most versatile of Human ships, capable of entering and exiting the atmosphere so as to provide heavy air support, large amounts of supplies or even a temporary mobile base when landed. They could also be used for scouting, usually leading 2 or 3 destroyers, and were used in fleet-battles as the main combatants, with destroyers supporting. Specifications *Length **775 ft. - 900 ft. ***(850 ft.) *Complement **3,500 - 4,000 ***(3,000) Missile Frigates Missile frigates, about the size of a medium-sized ship of the same name, were not built in high numbers, however they provided competent anti-capital weapon platforms. The cost of the guided missiles needed, however, limited their use. Specifications *Length **550 ft. - 775 ft. ***(675 ft.) *Complement **2,750 - 3,500 ***(3,000) Stealth Frigates Armed with a stealth drive, stealth frigates were designed to hit the enemy where it hurts undetected. They used massive EMMAS units, the biggest that can be produced, to shield themselves from sight and most forms of detection. Specifications *Length **300 ft. - 550 ft. ***(450 ft.) *Complement **2,000 - 2,750 ***2,350 Borderline (Tactical-Operational) Fourth Tier (Semi-Carriable Ships) Escort Frigates Escort frigates were ships larger than destroyers, yet capable of being carried by carriers or dreadnaughts as escort and scouting ships. Specifications *Length **300 ft. - 450 ft. *Complement **N/A Destroyers Destroyers were the smallest, most mass-produced and lightest of all ships in Human navies. They provided the bread-and-butter role of meat shield to their larger capital counterparts, and packed a small punch that became significant in larger numbers. Fleet doctrine in most navies tasked destroyers with eliminating other enemy destroyers, a dangerous task, especially considering that an enemy capital ship could easily wipe out dozens of the smaller ships. Specifications *Length **200 ft. - 300 ft. ***(225 ft.) *Complement **600 - 1000 ***(650) Stealth Destroyer Smaller than stealth frigates, stealth destroyers were the more produced of the stealth-equipped warships. They were the same size as their non-stealth counterparts, but had a medium-sized stealth drive to make them invisible to the naked eye. Destroyers, however, were more used for dangerous patrols that required their invisibility than strike attacks like their larger cousins. Specifications *Length **150 ft. - 200 ft. ***(175 ft.) *Complement **450 - 750 ***(550) Operational Class Fifth Tier (Scouting Ships) Patrol Boats Also known as “gunships”, patrol boats were often used to scout out enemy fleet movements and positions. Small but not cloaked, they were smaller than destroyers but bigger than fighters. Specifications *Length **100 ft. - 175 ft. ***(145 ft.) *Complement **35 - 100 ***(65) Sixth Tier (Strike Craft) Aerospace Fighter Aerospace fighters were craft capable of both in-atmosphere and exo-atmosphere operations, often massed to destroy enemy capitals, fighters or ground bases and capable of packing quite a punch for their small size. Specifications *Length **55 ft. - 75 ft. ***(65 ft.) *Complement **1 ***(1) Stealth Fighter Small spacecraft designed to hit hard and fast without being detected, stealth fighters were often used in conjunction with stealth bombers to initiate ambushed on lone capital ships, guarding the bombers and annihilating enemy fighters. For the most part, stealth fighters had slightly better fighting and maneuvering capabilities than their uncloaked counterparts, mostly due to the fact that the added cost of the stealth drive often meant that ensuring a fighter’s survival was preferable to lowered costs. *Length **30 ft. - 55 ft. ***(45 ft.) *Complement **2 - 3 ***(3) Bomber Bombers were the main tactical strike craft of Human navies. They carried heavier strike weapons and had a crew four or five times as large as the fighters that protected, escorted and assisted them in battle. They proved themselves extremely effective at taking down cruisers and above in space, despite their small stature, or raining hell down upon enemy positions in-atmosphere. Specifications *Length **75 ft. - 100 ft. ***(80 ft.) *Complement **4 - 5 ***(4) Stealth Bomber Stealth bombers were most often used with stealth fighters for ambushes on lone capital ships. En masse, their heavier weapons were quite capable of punching through the shields and armor of a capital ship. They were vulnerable to enemy fighters, although they had better maneuvering and speed than their non-stealth companions, due to the added cost of a stealth drive ensuring that survival was high on the list of build specifications. Specifications *Length **50 ft. - 75 ft. ***(60 ft.) *Complement **5 - 6 ***(6) Trivia *The ship classification system was nicknamed the "Nimitz System", after United States Navy admiral Chester W. Nimitz. * The system was made around 2140 by a United States Strategic Command official, who described possible future sizes and estimated complements of said ships. It was reviewed and used by United Nations officials and accepted in 2146. Copies of it were stored on the supercarriers that were sent to the Sargas Sector, meaning that it was used by both the United Sol Coalition and people in the Sargas Sector. Category:Human Category:Ship Category:Spacecraft